Full-time students, direct sales consultants on the side.

These students walk among us on campus, going to classes each day, while awaiting shipments of products from headquarters to sell to loyal customers. Direct sales companies, like Mary Kay, Cutco Knives and Lia Sophia, among others, are a way for students to start a business in their free time. The formula is simple: order product, throw a party and sell, sell, sell.

Kristi Garfield, 27, is an Eau Claire-based Mary Kay consultant who treats her business as a full-time job. She said the way Mary Kay and other direct sales companies are modeled, she must get a certain amount of people to sign up to be consultants in order to move up in the business.

“A big part of getting to the next level of the business is getting another woman to sign on underneath you,” Garfield said.

She said she thinks people are attracted to direct sales businesses because they can push them through a tough time in their lives. In her experience, she said she knows other consultants who put themselves through college doing direct sales with Mary Kay. This boost in money is a draw for college students.

“A lot of people are looking for something more, whether it’s a little extra money or a different path,” Garfield said.

Sarah Nigro, now a senior at Eau Claire, started selling Mary Kay when she was 18 years old. She said her goals starting out, now over two years ago, were to have one party a month and add an additional $200 a month to her current income.

“My favorite part of being a Mary Kay lady is the fact that people know the products and those that use them love them, so it’s easy to sell the products,” Nigro said.

Despite that products being easy to sell to a dedicated user base, Nigro said she has found college doesn’t leave much time for throwing a party every month the way she originally planned. Though she is making some sales through customers who want to reorder their favorite products, she said she is too busy to create a new customer base.

“I wish I had more time to dedicate to selling Mary Kay,” she said. “I know that those people who put in 110 percent get so much out of the business.”

For now, Nigro uses the products herself and orders for friends. Otherwise, her busy life with school and work has left her Mary Kay business idle.

A major part of the direct sales model is the “party.” Consultants are encouraged to invite people into their home, have a “party” for their product, and sell items to those who come.

Kayla Menzie, a senior journalism major, became a consultant for Jamberry Nail Wraps just under a month ago. Jamberry is a direct sales company that sells nail stickers in a variety of patterns through consultants nationwide.

Menzie said for Jamberry, parties are different because they can be thrown online.

She started a Facebook event with a link in the description to a “party page” where customers can shop her nail art inventory online. This way, Menzie doesn’t have to take time out of her schedule to throw parties face-to-face with customers.

Though her business is young, she hopes throwing parties this way will continue to make her a small commission and help more people discover the brand.

Menzie said for her, it wasn’t about making money, but instead about sharing a product that changed her life.

“I used to bite my nails,” Menzie said. “But the first time I tried Jamberry Nail Wraps, I didn’t bite my nails at all for the entire week I had them on. It’s a pretty cool personal testimony.”

Menzie said at the moment, she doesn’t have a plan for her Jamberry business after she graduates. For now, she wants to take it one day at a time and enjoy connecting with people over the product, not as a way of life but as a passion she wants to share.

While neither Menzie nor Nigro are planning on dropping out of school to become full-time consultants, both said the love of the products they sell keep them going. For now, school comes first, direct sales comes second.